One well known method for the preparation of oxygen and hydrogen involves the electrolysis of water. In the electrolysis process, hydrogen is produced at the cathode and oxygen is evolved at the anode. Empirically this can be illustrated as: ##STR1##
The thermodynamically electrochemical conversion efficiency is only partly realized in a practical electrochemical cell such as that illustrated above. Two basic losses are encountered: the ohmic loss and the electrode polarization, which is the deviation of the actual from the thermodynamic electrode potential. The electrode polarization is the result of the irreversibility of the electrode process, that is, the activation polarization and the voltage loss which develops from concentration gradients of the reactants.
Typically the anode reaction, oxygen evolution, is done on a porous nickel anode. In a potassium hydroxide electrolyte environment, the anode reaction is characterized by high polarizations of about 1598 to about 1740 millivolts (mv) at current densities of about 100 to about 1000 milliamps per square centimeter (ma/cm.sup.2) of electrode area. Other conventional anodes employed in the electrolysis of water to form oxygen result in cells that exhibit low electrochemical conversion efficiencies necessitating large voltage requirements. The high voltage requirements contribute to significant cell power consumption (IE).
Accordingly, there is a constant search in the art for processes that electrolize water to produce hydrogen and oxygen that result in reduced cell power consumption.